A gift to Damascus: 150,000 COVID-19 Chinese vaccines

The Syrian government has received the first batch of Chinese COVID-19 vaccines, a gift of 150,000 jabs to Damascus, according to Syrian and Chinese officials

DAMASCUS, Syria -- The Syrian government received the first batch of Chinese COVID-19 vaccines on Saturday, a gift of 150,000 jabs to Damascus, Syrian and Chinese officials said. The Chinese vaccines arrived in Damascus airport where they were received by Syria’s Health Minister Hassan Ghabbash and China’s ambassador to Damascus. The Chinese batch comes a few days after more than 200,000 jabs were delivered to Syria through the United Nations-led platform which provides vaccines to the needy. The new jabs are likely to speed up the inoculation campaign in the war-torn country where a battered health sector has been overwhelmed by the pandemic, and where infections have been on the rise.